


If You Leave Me Now

by mcgarrygirl78



Series: Starting Over [23]
Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: F/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-08-01
Updated: 2012-08-01
Packaged: 2017-11-11 05:36:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,854
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/475087
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mcgarrygirl78/pseuds/mcgarrygirl78
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The words would be very nice when they came.  Right now the feelings were pretty awesome.</p>
            </blockquote>





	If You Leave Me Now

**Author's Note:**

> I'm devoted to this ship, I have been from the word go and I'm having such an adventure with this blossoming relationship.

“When are you coming back?” Hotch asked, handing off the plates.

“I’ll be back in a week.” Beth put the plates in the cabinet. “I leave Thursday morning and I’ll get back next Thursday evening.”

“But I'm off next week. I'm off and you won't even be here.”

She looked at him and swore she saw a little pout. That made her smile. It also made her wrap her arms around him and give him a kiss.

“You're off?” she asked. “You're not working at all next week?”

“No, not that kind of off.” Hotch replied.

“There are types of off now?” Beth couldn’t help but laugh as she asked. “You're definitely going to have to enlighten me Agent Hotchner.”

“I declared next week an in office week two weeks ago. That means that as long as there are no emergencies we’re staying in Quantico. The paperwork is piling up and the Section Chief doesn’t like it when the paperwork doesn’t get done. It’s hard to keep up when you're on a plane all over the country.”

“I bet.”

“So every night next week I’ll be home…barring emergency. And it would have to be a serious emergency. I have other teams on the ready if something is needed.”

“Well we’ll have next weekend together.” she kissed him again. “Barring emergency that is.”

“I wish you weren't going.” Hotch held her close. “I probably sound like a selfish jerk. I know you want to see your family; your mom must be happy that you're coming home. I just really wanted to spend this time with you.”

“We have the telephone. This will be the first time we’ve ever done it while I was away.”

“The first time we've ever done what?”

“We can do whatever we want, Aaron.” Beth smiled and it made her blue eyes sparkle. “But first we probably need to finish putting the dishes away.”

“Right.” Hotch smiled too, walking back over to the dishwasher and getting more plates.

Beth had come over for dinner with him and Jack tonight. Jack mostly wanted to talk about his camp adventures and they wanted to listen. Beth talked a bit about work, mostly about some projects that were coming up for the children’s museum. She thought Jack might have a lot of fun hanging out there. Hotch just watched them go. 

He joined in occasionally but got the most joy out of Jack and Beth talking with each other. She was so good with kids; he knew she had nieces and nephews. She didn’t just like Jack because he was Hotch’s son. She liked him as a person and that was important to his father. Now a week was coming where he could’ve spent every evening with her if he wanted to and she was leaving town. Was this karma, because it surely was a bitch?

“How’s your mom doing?” 

“She's better. She went back to the house; you know she had been staying with my brother and sister-in-law. They said she could stay forever, they surely have the room, but she wanted to be home. She wanted to be close to my dad. This is the first time I'm going home since…I haven’t been the daughter I should've been.”

“I'm really sure that’s not true.” Hotch gave her the Tupperware.

“It is. I just didn’t want to go to the house. I think I can handle it now…I hope I can. But his chair probably still smells like him and his tools and junk are surely still in the garage. Mom wants me to help her clean some stuff up. My sister-in-law Kim has really stepped up but I need to go home and be with my family. Plus I have to tell her all about you and Jack. That’s sure to bring a smile to her face in what could be some tense moments.”

“I thought she knew about us.”

“Oh she does but there are new things.” Beth said.

“Like what?” he asked.

“That’s between me and mom.”

She laughed that Beth laugh, which was slightly maniacal and completely hilarious. Hotch could never hear it without laughing himself. This time was no different. She was so happy. Bad things happened, she lost people too, but she was happy. He wasn’t comparing them, as there was no point, but her happiness was contagious. 

Beth loved life; she loved living. He’d seen her sad, it wasn’t all good times. But in the end she just wanted to have hope. She wanted to laugh and love and live. He wanted the same thing and it was why they were together. He also didn’t want her to go but that wasn’t going to happen so he needed to suck it up.

“I’ll make sure to bring Jack back a Fisher Cats jersey and stuffed mascot. My brother tells me they're having a great run and he's a season ticket holder so we’re going to the game Friday night.”

“You're not that big of a baseball fan, are you?”

“No, but I love to go to games. It’s awesome just being out there with all the fans, watching it as it happens. You can't help but be swept up in the excitement. We might even see the roller derby too while I'm there. That always get my blood pumping.”

“That’s how I feel when I'm with you.” Hotch smiled when he said it.

“Well we still have tomorrow.” Beth said. “I’ll sweep you right off your feet if you'd like.”

Again the dishes went ignored and they were in each other’s arms. Sometimes he just felt as if there wasn’t enough time. There wasn’t enough time to be close, kiss, smell her neck…Hotch needed more time. 

“I know its short notice for all parties but I might be able to get Sam and Jessie to look after Jack tomorrow evening. We could spend a little time together.”

“We could spend the night together.” Beth whispered.

“Yes sweetheart,” Hotch nodded. “We could do that too.”

“I don’t want to put pressure on Sam and Jessie if they have something else going on. But if they can do it then it would be great. We could have dinner out then come back and relax.”

“I’ll call them later and ask.”

Hotch smiled and kissed her. Beth held on and didn’t want to let go. It was nice to know she would be missed. She was always the one missing him and now it was reversed. That wasn’t the reason she was leaving of course but it was still nice to know. 

It wasn’t as if she didn’t know how Aaron felt about her. He didn’t need to say those magical words yet. In the end they were just words. With him it was all about action. He wasn’t around a lot, it was just a fact. But he made that up to her in many ways. 

And he opened his life, and his son’s, to her. For Beth that was the biggest thing of all. Aaron was fiercely protective of Jack and had every right to be. He even let the two of them spend time alone. That was all she needed to know how he felt about her. The words would be very nice when they came. Right now the feelings were pretty awesome.

Though it wasn’t easy to leave his arms, Beth managed. They put the rest of the dishes away and Hotch tidied up the kitchen. Beth went to the bathroom to freshen up. When she returned music played on the radio, only the living room lamp was on, and Hotch relaxed on the couch with a beer. She was back in his arms in a matter of moments.

“Yay, adult time.” she smiled.

“It was a good evening.”

“It’s still a good evening.”

“I really like the fact that now when I want to kiss you instead of finding an excuse to leave I just do it.”

“I don’t mind taking it slow.” She caressed his face.

“Beth, I'm not slow, I'm crawling.” Hotch laughed.

“You're walking now and I know for a fact you're a great runner. So when the time comes you'll be good at that too.”

“Why are you so patient?”

“It’s because I love you. I know it’s a slightly uncomfortable to discuss, but its still true statement. You're worth waiting for. We've come a long way and we still have a lot of adventures ahead of us.”

“It’s hard to squeeze in adventure with all the work I do.”

“I'm crafty Agent Hotchner; you'll see.”

“That concerns me.” he smiled.

She laughed and they kissed. They lay on the couch and kissed until they were breathless. Then they went back and kissed some more. Hotch kissed her neck and Beth ran her fingers through his hair. She kissed all ten of his fingertips and he kissed her nose. 

Three buttons of his shirt came undone as he slipped his hands under her tee shirt to stroke her bare back. They were making out like excited teenagers left home alone for the evening. Except they were mature teenagers…they didn’t have to grope and grab. Slow and steady always won the race.

“I shouldn’t have to go home after that. You’re a tease, Aaron Hotchner.”

“I want to ask you to stay.” Hotch didn’t want to let go.

“That’s another milestone for another day.”

“What is?”

“Trying to have quiet sex so we won't wake Jack.” Beth replied.

He smiled just thinking about it. Would they get there someday? Would she be spending nights with him and Jack? Would she eventually move in or they get a house together? He didn’t want his brain moving too fast; it had only been nine months. 

But he and Beth weren't kids. They were adults who had been through the ups and downs life had to dole out. Hotch had definitely been through the ups and downs. They weren't casually dating, they were in a relationship. And relationships progressed into serious things like sleepovers, cohabitation, and marriage. _Whoa, slow down_ , he told himself.

“What do you do when you want to hit the gas and the brake at the same time?” Hotch asked.

“You put the car in park and enjoy the view. You also kiss me again.”

“I never want to think too much when I'm doing that.”

Beth knew she’d have to go soon but she didn't want to leave his arms. She wondered how it would be being away for a week. She was glad to go home even with the sad things that were waiting there. She missed her family and loved to spend time with them. The idea that Hotch would come home every night made her miss him even more already. 

She’d plan for them to spend some time together, maybe a mini-vacation, before the summer was over. Getting him to take off from work would be no easy feat. But Beth didn’t aspire to things because they were easy. And the challenges, when she nailed them, were the best victory of all.

***


End file.
